Stranger in the Distance
by cowpenguin
Summary: What happens when a Serial prankster brings havoc to the tiny town? R/J, L/L CHAPTER 5 HERE, please R/R!
1. Apologizing is hard

Stranger in the Distance  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own Gilmore Girls… if I did, Jess and Rory would be together, and Dean would have spontaneously combusted.  
  
Rating: PG-13 – My defualt rating, plus some, what you may call, "Dark" scenes. None really in this chapter, we will see how it goes.  
  
  
  
Author's Note: I'm sorry if some of the characters aren't in character. I have really seen the show much, but I really like it so far, so, I'm only including characters that I've seen. (Sorry, I haven't seen Tristan if that is what you're looking for!) In addition, I really doubt this would be an actual GG plot. Please enjoy and R/R!  
  
FYI: I suspect this to be pretty long, but I dunno… check back often, I'll try and update every week!  
  
  
  
It was a Sunday morning, in the lovely, humble town of Stars Hollow. Rory Gilmore, a 16 year-old Chilton student is pacing in the kitchen wait for her mother, 32 year-old Lorelai Gilmore.  
  
"Mom!" Rory yelled up the stairs.  
  
"What my lovely, darling only child?"  
  
"I need coffee! Please can we go get coffee, now?"  
  
"Oh, I see we are getting addicted!"  
  
"What? I've been a member of the Coffee Anonymous club for 3 years. You've been a member for over 15 years!"  
  
"Ah yes, but maybe we need a day with out coffee?"  
  
Rory gasps loudly and stumbles to the bottom of the stairs, "Mother Gilmore! Are you all right?? are you saying… you don't WANT coffee today?" A pause, " Mom, are you still mad at Luke? You need to get over it, because I will not have MY addiction suffer!"  
  
A grumble is made from upstairs as Lorelai stomps down the stairs. "I need coffee!" She complains as she walks out the door.  
  
"Of course you do. You need it more than air. Please, just apologize to Luke so we can have our yummy free Luke coffee again!" Rory chaises her mom out the door as they start to walk to Luke's dinner, for the first time in days.  
  
  
  
  
  
Standing outside Luke's dinner, they realize it is packed today, something unusual. Lorelai sees this as an ample opportunity to get away.  
  
"Oh, darn, I guess we are going to have to go to Sookie's today. Bummer." Lorelai says in an extremely sarcastic voice.  
  
"yeah, right. Two seats at the counter are just SCREAMING our name! We need to get them, now!"  
  
Lorelai grumbles as Rory forcefully pushes her through the door. At the sight of Luke, Lorelai twisted around, trying to get out of Rory's reach. Rory grabbed her, just in time, and pushed her into the seats at the counter.  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen and the moment he saw Lorelai, he stopped and tried to walk back, but something made him stop and come over.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Rory.. Lorelai" Luke grumbled, staring at the counter.  
  
"Hello, Luke! Good morning!" Rory said in a cheery voice. "Do you know when Jess will be back?"  
  
"He is supposed to be back in 2 weeks, June 3rd, I think.  
  
"Luke, cut the crap!" Lorelai suddenly burst. " I'm sorry! I'm sorry for yelling at you, I'm sorry for telling you to go to hell, and I'm sorry you went fishing and I didn't have decent coffee for a week! Now, please, can we stop being stubborn and get on with our lives?"  
  
By this point, Rory was staring at her mother, mostly in amusement. The rest of the people in the dinner, looked at her like a moose in the middle of the road. There was silence for a few moments, until finally Luke turned around, made two cups of coffee, and handed them to the Gilmore ladies. "I figure if I don't accept your apology, you will jump over the counter and eat my arm off."  
  
"Be afraid! And, Thanks, Luke." Lorelai said, with a soft smile on her face.  
  
  
  
After a few minutes of drinking their coffee silently, Lorelai suddenly asks Rory, " Hey, are you alright? You seem a bit 'off' today. Maybe no one else notices, but I'm your mother, I'm suppose to notice."  
  
Rory sat there for a moment, thinking. You know, I suppose that there is something wrong. Dean and I had a small fight last night, and I'm not sure we are going to make it." She sighs. "It's been a year, though, maybe it's time to move on."  
  
"Hey" Lorelai says, looking around the dinner, "There are too many people in here. Something is wrong. HEY? WHY IS EVERYONE IN THE DINNER TODAY?" Everyone stops and looks at Lorelai.  
  
  
  
Miss Patty was sitting next to her and says, "Didn't you hear? Taylor's store was broken into last night. Almost all of his food was stolen. Didn't you notice when you got here today?"  
  
Lorelai thought, and finally said, "Hmm, I think I must have been distracted by Rory pushing me into Luke's. Looks like we have a thief on our hands."  
  
With that, Rory finally says, " School, mom." They say their goodbyes, and she is out the door. A few minutes later, Lorelai leaves, and eventually, Luke is the only one left in the dinner, until he hears Taylor ask, "Hey why is their toast with crust on my plate?"  
  
"Because I put it there" Luke replies, before day dreaming for hours.  
  
  
  
A/N: Eh, not too bad, I think, I think the last part was bad, but what are ya gonna do. I believe I shall have the 2nd chapter up tonight, and maybe the third one tomorrow morning. R/R! 


	2. Early Morning Tragedy

A/N: Yay! I have a 100% approval rating! (of course, I only have one review, but, hey, I'm happy!) This chapter is gonna be short, but the next one should be long. I'll try my best to shoot them out fast enough for you guys, but I can only type so much with school and such. R/R  
  
Indubitably  
  
Setting: the day after the last chapter, early, early morning. Keep this in mind.  
  
Rating: Still pg-13  
  
  
  
*RING!!! RING!!!*  
  
Stumbling around her room, Rory looks, half asleep, around her house, for the phone.  
  
**Ring!!!Ring**  
  
~Ah! Please don't wake mom up!~ Rory pleaded, still very groggy from being woken up. She smiled to herself as she finally locates the ringing annoyance.  
  
Struggling to talk, she finally answers with, "Hello?"  
  
"Why if it isn't the Lovely Rory Gilmore!" the familiar male voice replied.  
  
Pausing, Rory wasn't quite sure who was on the other line. "Jess?" she finally says.  
  
"The one and only! Wow, and before you have gotten your coffee. You get a gold star."  
  
"Why are you calling?"  
  
"Can't a fellow reader call another without the 3rd degree?"  
  
"Not when it's 5 AM."  
  
"Ah. Go to the gazebo."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes. Go… To… The.. Gazebo."  
  
"It's 5 AM, I haven't had coffee, and I'm in my PJ's."  
  
"The sun is out, I'll make it worth your while, and no one will see you in your PJ's."  
  
"Umm… can I change?"  
  
"No time."  
  
"Hmm…"  
  
"Just do it"  
  
Sighing, Rory complies with, "I'll be there in 5 minutes."  
  
"Hey, bring the phone with you."  
  
"Wait, why?"  
  
"I promise to explain."  
  
  
  
Still on the telephone, Rory enters the gazebo, making small talk the entire walk there. Finally, she announces to her friend, "Ok, I'm really cold, but I made it to the gazebo."  
  
"Good! Now, look at Luke's dinner. Don't ask any questions."  
  
"Ok, looking."  
  
"Now, look at Taylor's store, with your back to the stairs."  
  
"Yesum."  
  
"Count to 16."  
  
"1…2…3…4…5…6…7...8…9…10…11…12…13…14…15…16…. I'm done!"  
  
"Turn around."  
  
Rory gasps as she not only hears the voice, not only through the phone, but also right behind her. She turns around slowly and screams.  
  
"Jess! OHMYGOD! What are you doing here? Luke said you wouldn't be back until june 3rd!"  
  
"Jess stood there, in front of Rory, grinning with a cell phone in hand.  
  
"Yep, I came back early. I figured you'd want to see me first. Hey, keep it quiet, you're the first person to know."  
  
"What about Luke?"  
  
"Nope, not Luke. Your special!" he nudges her and she smiles.  
  
"Speaking of Luke, look towards Luke's dinner."  
  
"I've seen it many times, Rory, trust me. I haven't been gone that long."  
  
"Just do it."  
  
Jess stands there looks at Lukes dinner, and finally says, "I don't get it… It looks fine."  
  
"Well then," Rory grabs his hand, and points it towards the sign. "Why is the sign upside down?"  
  
Jess looks confused, and grabs Rory, pulling her towards the dinner. "Whoa, I didn't even notice that before, what a weird thing for Luke to do." Jess let go of Rory, and walked towards the sign. "Hmm.. Looks as if it's a completely new sign. Weird…"  
  
All of a sudden, Rory screams an earth-shattering cry. Jess darts over to her, and she is standing, looking at the front door or the dinner.  
  
"Rory, what's the matter?" He asks, seeing the look on her face. She says nothing, and he decides to follow her eyes. What he saw made his stomach jump out of his throat. There Luke was, lying unconscious on the floor of the dinner, with the plate of glass from the front door shattered around him. All they could see was blood that covered his right upper body.  
  
  
  
A/N: What do you think? I think I wrote that well… R/R! 


	3. Car Ride

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, but please, can I get some more? I don't want to have to resort to needing 10 per chapter, but I would really appreciate the reviews. This should be a longer chapter than the rest.  
  
On with the chapter!  
  
Oh, and it skips around a little bit between Lorelai and Rory.  
  
  
  
"Oh god, Jess, how long do you think he was there?" Rory shudders when she asks Jess the painful question. Both of them are sitting in the Hartford General Hospital waiting room, and have been for a few hours. Rory actually missed school, something she would only do under dire circumstances, so Jess wouldn't have to be alone. Luke had been such a major part of her life, and they weren't even related. ~Jess must being dying~ she thought.  
  
A long pause overcame them as Rory waited for Jess to answer. "I don't know, Ror, but it must have happened early morning, earlier than us. I was near the dinner for about an hour before I met you there. I wonder why no one heard anything or noticed. I feel so bad, you know, being there and all and not noticing."  
  
"God, don't beat yourself up there, Dodger." Rory says, while rubbing his back, "We DID find him and he Will be ok, understand?" Rory tried desperately to convince herself of this, more than she was Jess.  
  
"Hey, Ror, Why haven't you called your mom yet. You didn't leave a note, and your skipping school, she is probably freaking out, since she hasn't had her coffee this morning."  
  
"My mom? Heh, Do I need to call her? Really? Because, I don't want to, let me hold out just a LITTLE bit longer."  
  
"Rory, you held out for 6 hours. It's noon, already."  
  
Rory sighed as she walked to the pay phone. She looked back at Jess before putting money in and dialing.  
  
(PHONE CALL)  
  
"ring… Ring… Ring…"  
  
~Ah, she must not be home. Oh well, I'll try again…~  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Rory froze, she didn't want to make her mad. She JUST got over her argument with Luke, she can't start one up with her.  
  
"Hi mom."  
  
"Who is this? Is this my only daughter that disappeared this morning, who didn't show up at school, and didn't even bother to call until lunch?"  
  
"I believe that would be me."  
  
"Rory, this is the second time! Are you in New York again, if you are…"  
  
"I'm at the Hartford General Hospital." Rory burst, she didn't want the 3rd degree, and she was feeling really guilty.  
  
"Lorelai Gilmore! Are you ok? What's wrong? Oh god, please tell me your ok!"  
  
"I'm ok, I promise, I'm fine."  
  
Audible Sigh and gasp is heard over the phone.  
  
"What? Are you on some sole field trip or something, because I've been home all day, worrying about you, and you had better tell me everything. I skipped going to Luke's, because I was so worried. I haven't had my coffee!" Lorelai whined.  
  
"You couldn't get your coffee anyway. Luke's isn't open today."  
  
"How would my darling only daughter know this?"  
  
Rory resists and doesn't say anything for a few seconds.  
  
"Rory? What's wrong? What is Luke's not open?"  
  
Another pause from Rory, and she finally decides she needs to tell her mother what happened to Luke.  
  
"Mom, I'm at the hospital.. Because…"  
  
"BECAUSE WHY? You said you weren't hurt!"  
  
"I'm not! But, mom… Luke is."  
  
There is silence over the phone, and Rory isn't sure if her mom is still there.  
  
  
  
"Mom?"  
  
"I'll be there in 45 minutes."  
  
"No, you need to stay there."  
  
"No, I need to. You can't stop me."  
  
"Ok. I love you mom."  
  
"I love you, too, I'll be there soon."  
  
  
  
Rory hangs up the phone, and goes back and sits with Jess.  
  
"She is coming."  
  
"I know."  
  
  
  
A/N: Lorelai is talking to herself in the car. I thought it would be easier for it to be dialog, than thought.  
  
  
  
Lorelai lept into her car, with tears streaming down her face. As she peeled out of the driveway, she started thinking to herself, not normal things, but deep things. She needed to calm down, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do that until she knew that Luke, her best friend would be Ok.  
  
"Oh god, I can't believe this. What happened? Why didn't I ask Rory?"  
  
Lorelai was crying harder than before, as it started to rain. She needed to slow down, she was already going double the speed limit. She finally reached the sign saying, 'You are now leaning Stars Hollow! Come back soon!'. It seemed to take forever to get to that point.  
  
  
  
Lorelai's mind was bickering back and forth between each other. The left and the right. Logic over imagination. Rationality and feeling.  
  
"Oh god, what happens if he doesn't make it by the time I get there? Why didn't I ask Rory what happened to him, instead of blindingly jumping into the car?"  
  
"Luke will still be there when you get to him, Lorelai. If he were in bad shape, then Rory would have called sooner. Note to self; kill daughter when get home."  
  
"I don't know, Rory wouldn't have skipped school for a toaster burn. Hmm, I wonder how she found him there, it's not like she said to herself 'I wonder if Luke is ok? Maybe I should go and check.' At 6 in the morning. She never gets up that early."  
  
"Luke is a father figure to Rory, she would do pretty much anything for him. Maybe she just went for a walk around town or something. Why are you so worried about Luke? Were you this worried about Rory?"  
  
Lorelai stopped thinking for a moment (well, with her brain that is.) ~Why AM I so worried? I know I wasn't this worried about Rory, and she is my daughter!~  
  
She heart stopped as she pulled over on the side of the road, perplexed over her thoughts. She got out of the car, and impulsively walked around it, and sat back in it.  
  
"What is going on here?" Was the only thing she could think of.  
  
All of a sudden, It hits her like a ton of bricks. "Oh my god… It can't be. No."  
  
She starts the car, but doesn't pull out, yet.  
  
"Oh god, it is. I can't believe it! I'm In love with Luke my best friend. I'm totally in love with Luke Dane."  
  
This was Lorelai's final thought on her long drive to the hospital.  
  
A/N:Whatcha think? 


	4. Hospital talks

Stranger in the Distance  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, how could I, I'm broke!  
  
A/N: Sorry it took me so long, I was procrastinating! Hope you enjoy it, and I believe I'll take the Beta-tester up on their offer, on the next chapter. I felt bad about waiting too long, and didn't want to make you wait longer!  
  
  
  
Sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, Jess and Rory are waiting for Lorelai to come in. While waiting, they are playing the wonderful game of Quarters. (A/N: Quarters is, if you have never heard of it, a game where you flick a quarter at your opponents knuckles, causing them to bleed. Just a way to pass the time.) As Rory was flicking the quarter at Jess's knuckles, Lorelai walked in with her face all red and puffy from crying. Rory gets up and runs over to her mom.  
  
"Mom, are you ok? He is going to be all right. I promise."  
  
Lorelai looks at her daughter, and gives her a strange look. Between sniffles, she manages to ask, "Rory, honey, why are you in your pajamas?"  
  
Rory laughs, and replies, "It's a long story, come on and sit down. I get you some coffee."  
  
Rory helps her mom sit down, and she walks to the cafeteria to get her some coffee. As Rory is gone, it gives Lorelai and Jess a chance to talk.  
  
"How was New York?" Lorelai asked, in a sincere manner.  
  
"Umm, it, was… fine." Jess replied. He didn't understand why she was being so nice to him; she hated him.  
  
"You really love her don't you?" Lorelai stated, looking at Jess. When he didn't say anything she added, "Don't worry, I'm not in mom-mode now, I won't beat the crap out of you if you say yes"  
  
Jess thought for a moment, and, thankfully the doctor chose to come in now. ~Thank God! ~ Jess thought.  
  
"Hello, um, Mrs. Danes." He said, looking at Lorelai.  
  
"Umm.. I'm not.. We aren't… yeah, that's me." She replied.  
  
Jess gave her a weird look, and she elbowed him in the stomach.  
  
"And, who is this?" he added pointing to Jess.  
  
"He is Luke's Nephew." Lorelai said before Jess could.  
  
"Yes, I live with him and my Auntie Lorelai." Jess smiled, and gave Lorelai a hug.  
  
Whispering into his ear, "Although I don't technically hate you anymore, I can still kick your ass back to New York." Causing Jess to let go of them embrace and take a step away from her. Rory decided to come in at this moment, and she saw Jess, her mom, and the doctor, talking.  
  
"Yes, now Mr. Danes well-being- Now who is this?" He said, pointing towards Rory, obviously aggravated.  
  
"Yeah, this is my daughter Rory." Lorelai states.  
  
"Ah, so your Luke's daughter." The doctor said.  
  
"What? I am? Wow." Lorelai pinched her hand, and Rory being bright, she said, "Yes I am! Is my father all right? We were suppose to go to the mall today on a father/daughter shopping spree for my birthday!"  
  
Lorelai hugged her daughter and said quietly, "I think you're over doing it a bit, Ror."  
  
"Yes, Ok, now, as with Mr. Danes Condition, he was hit with a strong force over the head, causing slight trauma to the cranial region." The doctor continued.  
  
"Whoa, Doctor, can you slow down a little bit, and maybe dumbing it down for the children who don't understand?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Sure. He has a concussion. A high-grade one, actually. I'm hoping that it doesn't mean anything other than that, but we don't know at this point. We also had to stitch up his arm, he had an enormous gash around the shoulder area on his right arm. Oh, and the more important part of it all, because he fell into shock before getting medical treatment, we are afraid that he will be in a coma for no more than a few days. The worst possibility is he could have short-term or long-term memory loss."  
  
Lorelai started crying again, and Rory had to help her stand up. She whispered into her mother's ear, "Mom, he is going to be ok! Please don't cry!"  
  
"Rory, I'm just afraid that he won't remember me." She said, and started sobbing on her daughters shoulder. As Rory and Lorelai went to sit down in the chairs, Jess continued to stay and ask the doctor some questions.  
  
"Doctor, how long will my uncle be in the hospital?"  
  
The doctor sighed, and said, "Well, we don't know. Certainly over night, but, if he is lucky, he may be able to go home tomorrow."  
  
"Well, are we aloud to see him?" Jess asked.  
  
"Sure. He won't be conscious, but he may be able to hear you talking to him. You might even prevent memory-loss if you talk about familiar stuff." He looked over at Lorelai, and continued, "You have to be calm in there, she'll have to stop crying before she goes in there."  
  
"Thank you." Jess said, and he walked back to Rory and Lorelai.  
  
"We can go in and see him, on at a time, but you need to stop crying, Lorelai, or they won't let you in."  
  
With that, Lorelai stopped crying abruptly, and said, "I can do that. Would you mind if I go last?"  
  
Jess and Rory shook their heads, and Jess said, "I'll go first. I'll be back soon."  
  
He walked over to the doctor, and she took him to Luke's room down the hall. After Jess was out of sight, Lorelai asked, "Rory, what happened?"  
  
Rory took a deep breath, and said, " Well, Jess called me earlier this morning, at 5 AM. He told me to go to the gazebo, and we had a big thing about how I was still in my pj's and how I didn't have coffee, things like that. Well, I walked to the gazebo, and Jess told me to look at Luke's diner, so I did. I noticed the sign was upside-down, and he surprised me by walking up behind me, and telling me he was back. After we talked for a minute, I told him about Luke's sign. We went over there to see what the sign was doing upside- down, and I saw Luke on the floor of the diner with the glass from the door shattered around him, and he was bleeding. We put him in Jess's car, and drove him here."  
  
Bewildered, Lorelai asked, "Why didn't you call sooner?"  
  
"Well, I didn't want to worry you. You just got back on good terms with Luke, and I didn't want to ruin it."  
  
Both Gilmore's started to cry, and they hugged each other tight.  
  
  
  
Walking down the hallway, Jess was nervous about seeing his uncle so helpless. The doctor showed him the room, and he walked in. He sat down in the chair next to Luke's bed, and only saw one needle go into him. ~ At least it's only one needle instead of a bunch of tubes .~  
  
After a minute of sitting there, he finally spoke.  
  
"Hey Uncle Luke. It's me, Jess. I bet your wondering what I'm doing here, but me, Rory found you, and we brought you to the hospital. I came back. I want to come back, if that's all right with you. You'll probably need someone to talk care of you when you get to the dinner."  
  
He looked at his uncle, still motionless in the bed.  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know, that I'm happy that someone wanted to take me in, and be apart of my life. You gave me a chance, Uncle Luke, and Thanks for it. I promise I'll I try and not get myself into so much trouble when.. if.. You let me live with you again." A single tear was crawling down Jess's cheek.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll get going Rory want's to see you."  
  
Jess walked out of the room, and back to the waiting room. There he saw Rory and Lorelai submerged in a hug, and crying. Not wanting to break the Kodak moment, he coughed loudly. Rory noticed Jess standing there, and let go of her mother.  
  
"Mom, Jess is back." Rory said to her mother.  
  
Rory stood up, asked Jess how to get to Luke's room, and was on her way. Jess went to sit down next to Lorelai.  
  
  
  
Rory slowly entered the room Luke was in. When she saw him, she gasped. She had never seen him so pale, so helpless, so, not Luke, in her whole life. After standing there for a few seconds, she went over to the chair. A dead silence filled the room, and Rory really didn't know what to say.  
  
After a while of thinking, the words started to come to her.  
  
"Hey Luke, it's Rory, Rory Gilmore. I really don't know what to say." She paused for a moment, and looked at Luke's face. It was so lost. As tears started to stream down her face, she started talking again.  
  
"Yes, Um, I just want to let you know that I love you like a second father, because that's what you were. You were really the only daily father figure I've had since, well, forever. In addition, I'm glad you protect me. Like when you put Dean in a headlock. And, when you give me free coffee, although you know it's bad for me, you give it to me. So, I hope, you feel better soon, and don't forget me. That would hurt a lot, and I know you don't want to see me hurt."  
  
By now, Rory was sobbing. She knew she wasn't suppose to, it was hard to stop. She eventually left the room to run back to her mom and Jess.  
  
"So, where were we?" Lorelai asked, as soon as Rory had left the room.  
  
Jess shuffled his feet, and asked, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't lie to me, you know exactly what. Now, tell me do you love my daughter?" Lorelai asked, her eyes wide open.  
  
"What about you? Look at you, you drove a 45-minute drive in half an hour, with tears down your eyes… for Luke. Then, you said you were his wife. I know you are best friends, and all, but, you're not acting like it. Your acting like you truly love him."  
  
Lorelai was wide-eyed. She didn't know how to respond to that. She knew he was right, but she wasn't about to tell him the truth. She didn't trust him. He broke her daughter.  
  
"Jess, thank you. You saved his life when you found him. And, you saved him from a lot of gossip, when Kirk would have found him there later that morning."  
  
"It wasn't me, Lorelai. It was Rory. She noticed the sign, and she noticed that he was lying there." Jess sighed when he said that. He felt guilty, still, when he didn't notice.  
  
"Ah, but you were the one that called Rory to the center of town, where she saw Luke's sign and all of that. It was because of you." With that, she pulled him into a hug.  
  
"Touché." Was all he said, and accepted the hug.  
  
Rory walked back in, and saw her mother and friend in an embrace. One she never thought she would see. Of course, she thought about her mother Choking Jess, but that was about it. She sat down never to the two, and joined in on the hug. When the hug finally ended, Rory told her mother that she could go in now. Lorelai got up, and hurried past the waiting room, into the area Luke was in.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What happened to her?" Jess asked Rory, hoping for an answer.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Have you seen the way she has acted today?"  
  
Rory thought for a moment, and then said, "yeah, I think she just realized what the rest of the town already knew…"  
  
"And, what would that be?" Jess asked.  
  
"She is in love with him, and they should be together. Haven't you seen them together? Plus, they have been flirting nonstop for, like, forever."  
  
Jess thought a moment. "Maybe that is why she wanted to go and see him last. We'll never know.. Well, not now, anyway."  
  
  
  
~ Don't cry, don't cry, and don't cry. ~ Was all that went through Lorelai's head as she walked down the long corridor.  
  
She found his room, took a deep breath and walked in. When she saw him there with all the tubes in him, she almost turned around and screamed. Instead, she forced herself over to the chair that Rory and Jess had sat in, just minutes before.  
  
"Well, this is quite awkward, isn't it?" She asked the motionless person, lying next to her. Taking a deep breath, she started talking again.  
  
"The ride down here was hard, I must say. But, I did it without my coffee, and I beat the world record in the time it took me to get here." She nervously laughs, and a tear comes down her face.  
  
"What happened, Luke? You were… are... always so worried about how coffee is going to kill us, or red meat, and the next thing you know, you're sitting in a hospital bed. Why weren't you careful?" She grabs his hand in hers, and holds it tightly.  
  
"You are going to get better, yes you will. You won't die, and you won't have memory loss. You can't. If you forgot Rory or me, I don't know what we would do. You would never be the same. The thing we have going on, would never be the same." More tears come as she continues.  
  
"Do you know what I realized on my way down here? Do you? I was more worried about you, than I was Rory when she got hurt. Rory. My own daughter. And, then I realized what have the freaking town already knows. I love you. Yes, I, Lorelai Gilmore, love you, Luke Danes. I think I just realized that on my way here, after, what, umpteen years?" Lorelai starts crying heavily, and, while still holding Luke's hand, puts her head down on his bed to muffle her cries.  
  
  
  
His eyes fluttered open, and all he could see was the while tile on the ceiling. Where the hell AM I? Was the first thing that popped into his head. ~ What a crazy dream that was, must have been the morphine…~ He jerked his head and a stinging pain shot from his back to his neck, causing him to wince. Slowly, he looked around the room. ~ Hospital. Bad. Why am I in the hospital? ~ He tried to bring his right hand to rub his eyes, but noticed that something was attached to it. He glanced over to his right, and found Lorelai asleep in the chair. Perplexed, he didn't know what to do. Tugging her arm, he called out softly.  
  
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty."  
  
Nothing.  
  
Tugging her arm once more, and yelling a little louder, "Hey, Sleeping Beauty!"  
  
Still Nothing.  
  
Getting frustrated, he pulled her arm, and yelled, "HEY, SLEEPING BEAUTY!"  
  
Now, he got his reply. Lorelai shot her head up, and Looked Luke in the eye. It took her a second to piece together what happened, but when she remembered, her eyes lit up and she hugged Luke.  
  
"Luke! You're ok! I was so worried!"  
  
"Yes, what happened?" He asked, hugging her back.  
  
"Well, Jess met Rory this morning, to tell her he was coming back. She noticed your sign hanging upside down, and went to check it out. Rory saw you lying on the Diner floor, with glass all around you. They rushed you to the hospital, and here you are."  
  
He thought for a second, and then finally asked, "Why are you here?" immediately after asking, he saw a pained expression overcome her face.  
  
"I was worried."  
  
"Oh."  
  
The expression turned to an alarmed look when she asked, "Do you remember anything that happened while sleeping?"  
  
He looked at her and said, "umm, I had a dream?"  
  
"What was it about?"  
  
Scratching his head, he said, "Well, I heard Jess say that he was going to change his way, and that he wanted to move back.."  
  
"Ok, good start, Do you remember anything else?"  
  
"Hmm... Yeah, Rory, I think it was, said that she loved me, and that I was a daily-father-figure to her."  
  
A small smile came to Lorelai's lips when he said this. She took a deep breath, and asked one more time if he remembered anything from the 'dream'.  
  
Slowly, he said, "I... heard... You say that… You... love me…"  
  
Lorelai's expression stayed the same, and both just stared at each other for a moment.  
  
He spoke again, and asked, "That wasn't a dream was it?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head slowly. After a minute, Luke motioned her to get on the bed. Not comprehending it, she didn't understand.  
  
"Get on the bed, Lorelai."  
  
She took a deep breath and got on the bed. He positioned himself so that he looked down at her.  
  
"Is it true?" He asked, not giving away anything through his eyes.  
  
She yielded a second, and replied, "Yes. It's true."  
  
"So, You love me?"  
  
While nodding her head, she whispered "yes" into his ear.  
  
Without even waiting, he bent down and kissed her. The electricity was visibly bouncing to and from each other's lips. After both regretfully ended the kiss from lack of air, they looked into each others eyes.  
  
"Say it, Lorelai."  
  
"I love you."  
  
A smile crept across Luke's lips, and he said, "I love you, too. I have, for a while. I'm glad you finally saw it." He pulled her closer to him, and kissed her gently again.  
  
"Should we tell Jess and Rory?" Lorelai questioned.  
  
"Nah. Let up have some fun pretending!"  
  
"Yay! I like pretending!"  
  
"When would you like to tell the rest of Stars Hollow?"  
  
"Ha. We can make it public the day that you can sucessfully deny me coffee!"  
  
Lorelai laughed, and Luke smiled. He pulled her closer, and they laid together for a while just listening to each other breathe, and the feeling the other's skin, something they never did until now." 


	5. Hallways

A/n: It's taken me a while to write another chapter to this, and I'm sorry about that. School just needed to be finished first! I'm not quite sure how many people read the last chapter, some might have missed it, so you should definitely read it. It's one of the big chapters! Reread it! Yes!  
  
Ah, I have decided to NOT make this a R/J. I thought it was going to be that way, but it won't work out as much as I would like it to, but they can just be good friends. Everyone down with that? OK! Read ahead!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After about 45 minutes, Lorelai finally crept out of Luke's room, as he has fallen asleep again. Walking down the long, white hallway, a small smile crept over her lips as she recalled what had happened only 20 minutes before.  
  
~Christ, I don't think I could hide a thing like this from Rory.~ She thought to herself, her smile partially disappearing. Nearing the waiting room, Lorelai successfully hid her smile, and walked in seeing Rory sleeping on Jess's shoulder, and Jess was reading a magazine. Taking another step further, Jess noticed her and shifted his weight, and trying to wake Rory at the same time.  
  
"Jess, don't worry about it, let her sleep." Lorelai said, hoping to calm the tension between Jess and herself. Although it had tamed, it was still there.  
  
"Are you sure? I could…"  
  
Lorelai cut him off before he could finish, and said, "No, I'm sure. Actually, I was going to take Rory home, do you want to carry her out to the car so she doesn't have to wake up?"  
  
He nodded his head and gently lifted Rory into his arms. "Point the way!" He told Lorelai, and the three left the hospital.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"This is it!" Lorelai told Jess. She opened the front passenger-side door and motioned for Jess to put her in.  
  
"That should be fine for now, Thanks Jess."  
  
Jess smiled and said, "No problem. It's not like I really wanted to wake her up, she looked pretty happy sleeping."  
  
"Yeah, Rule number one. Never wake a Gilmore Girl up before 5 o' clock. But, actually, that wasn't what I was going to that you for. I'm glad that you came back to town. I promise to be more nice."  
  
"Thanks, I'll try, too. Didn't we talk about this earlier?"  
  
"Whatever, can't go through it too many times. Do you want a ride home?"  
  
"Nah, that's OK, I think I'll stay for a while."  
  
Lorelai nodded, and got in the car. "Watch him for me, OK?"  
  
"Will do." Jess started walking back into the hospital.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~  
  
Driving home, Lorelai was beaming, while Rory was still sleeping in the seat next to her.  
  
~ Rory, I hate lying to you, but I want this to work before anyone in town ruins in for us ~  
  
A worried smile overtakes Lorelai's beaming one. Driving on, only 10 minutes away from Stars Hollow, Rory wakes up slowly, partially confused about where she was.  
  
"Mom, where are we going?" Rory asks, causing her mother to be pulled out of her imagination.  
  
"Ror, we are going home. From the Hospital" Lorelai replies  
  
"Mom, but what about school? I need to go to school!"  
  
"Rory, your school day is over in an hour and a half, and you still need to go home and change, then come back. You would only be in school for 20 minutes."  
  
"Ugh. Fine. I'll just read when we get home."  
  
Silence overcame them for a few minutes, as they both thought of what they should talk about. Rory wanted to know what her mother had said to Luke, but she didn't want to make her mom mad, something that would obviously happen if she pried. She fought with herself for a few more minutes before finally deciding that the question needed to be asked.  
  
"Mom, what did you say to Luke while you were in there?"  
  
They drove in silence for a few minutes, as Lorelai couldn't think of a decent answer.  
  
"Oh, Nothing the weather, what was on Days of Our Lives today, the usual."  
  
Not wanting to push her mom, she let it go. She knew that her mom wasn't telling her the whole truth, but the way she was looking to the right. Rory knew it was a scientific fact, that if someone were lying, they would look towards the right.  
  
Oh, hey, Luke woke up while I was in there." Lorelai said, smiling once again.  
  
Rory sat up and smiled back. "Really? What did he say? Did he remember everything? Did he tell you what happened?"  
  
"Whoa, calm down, You sure are hyped up for a person who didn't get her coffee this morning! He was fine, remembered everything, except what happened."  
  
"Awsome! What did you talk about?"  
  
"Nothing, really, just…stuff."  
  
"Liar! But, I'll be patient and read it out of your diary tonight!" Rory said, sticking her tongue at her mom.  
  
"Sure, go for the diary. You'll never find it! I'll eat it! I swear!"  
  
They pulled into the driveway, and turned off the car.  
  
Before getting out, Rory said, "Mom, He'll be all right. I promise."  
  
Lorelai smiled slightly, and replied, "Yeah, I know. Now, lets go see what we have for food!"  
  
Both got out of the car and walked inside the house, only one being the same person before the day was up. 


End file.
